1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to air conditioning systems and, more particularly, to systems and methods that not only facilitate more efficient air conditioning installation, but also improve system component storage and transport.
2. Description of the Background
Air conditioning systems normally include components such as an evaporator coil unit, a furnace, and a plenum. Various installation problems presently exist that increase time, cost, and quality of the system installation.
Conventional air conditioning systems typically require an air flow connection between the air conditioning coil housing and a furnace that normally includes the blower. A prefabricated transition member to make this connection is desired because of the speed and accuracy of the fit. However, because hundreds of different coil housings and furnaces or blowers are encountered, it is difficult to provide a prefabricated transition member to make this connection due to the large warehouse logistic problems and costs that would be associated therewith. A custom built transition member is therefore normally necessary to make this connection. In fact, it is somewhat unusual to have a factory manufactured direct connection these two very basic air conditioning system components. This practice results in increased material and labor costs and can possibly result in a less than perfect connection between units.
In the past, adjustable adaptors have also been used to provide the transition members that may adjustably adapt to many different types of equipment. In some cases, adjustable adaptors may have only a coarse adjustment range and therefore may not allow for the desired precision fit for all the different heater/blower units to avoid air flow blockage within the air flow passage or air leakage therefrom.
The coil housing normally connects to a plenum box from which conduits carry the air to the various desired locations in the air conditioned building for the air vents. Combined coil housing/plenums have been used to help solve the transition problem. However, the coil housing/plenum system produces a large, bulky system component that is harder to manipulate, install, transport and store. This bulkier system may also have difficult component orientation problems as discussed below, depending on the size and shape of the room, attic, nook, or the like in which the air conditioning system is situated.
In installing an air conditioning system, there is often a problem with positioning of the coil housing due to the particular orientation of the coil service connections and water drain pipe connections for the coil housing. In some cases, where the air conditioning system is to be placed in a large room, the coil orientation may not matter. In other installations due to the size of the room of the installation, if the coil configuration is not correct for the unit available at the location, then it becomes necessary for the installer to return to the base and pick up a differently oriented coil configuration housing so as to be able to make a connection to the coil without unreasonable difficulty. Coil configurations are sometimes referred to as right-hand or left-hand coil configurations depending upon the side from which the coil service connections are readily available. When the air conditioning system units are installed in attics or other building enclosures, the installer will not always know whether to bring a right-hand or left-hand coil configuration housing. The coil configuration problem, of course, increases labor and transport costs as well as warehouse costs. The warehouse costs arise due to the need to keep both types of coil configurations in stock.
Various inventors have recognized the above or related problems and attempted to resolve them as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,280, issued Nov. 5, 1991, to L. Martin, discloses an air conditioning apparatus with an enclosure which both houses a conditioning coil and serves as a plenum for transferring air to one or more conduits. In one aspect, vanes of the coil or coils are oriented to direct air toward openings in the plenum. An enclosure is provided that serves as a coil housing and as a plenum.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,766, issued Jan. 6, 1987, to Nation et al., discloses an adaptor which is employed to join a heater and an air conditioning evaporator in an air conditioning system. The adapter is proved with a series of slidable panels which permit the adaptor to be sized to fit a particular heater by breaking off selected segments of the panes along a series of frangible connections.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,950, issued Feb. 18, 1975, to Skoch et al., discloses a multi-size adaptor to be connected to a duct in an air conditioning system and having a box like air discharge outlet in which an air diffuser can be mounted, and having an air inlet made in stepped sections of different size for enabling the same to be connected to one of several sizes of ducts to suit installation requirements. A modified embodiment includes a bellows section that can be axially compressed or flexed so as to be connected to a duct at an angle to the outlet.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,214, issued Jul. 18, 1989, to Nagao et al., discloses a supply and return air plenum unit for duct air-conditioning systems and includes a return air inlet and a supply air outlet defined in a case in a vertical juxtaposition, the supply air outlet having an opening located at a front lower comer of the case. A blow-off grill is disposed in the opening of the supply air outlet and is angularly moved by an actuator for varying the direction of the supply air within a range between the vertical and the horizontal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,623, issued Nov. 17, 1981, to M. Meckler, discloses a multi- duct air conditioning system integrating ventilating, humidity control, filtering, chilling and heating, and distribution of liquids, embodied in a combination of means operating at peak efficiency under varied conditions, characterized by features such as a dualstage refrigeration heat-pump apparatus with separate condensing of refrigerant subsequently commingled and expanded in a single evaporator supplying chilled water.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,088,466, issued May 9, 1978, to Humphrey et al., discloses an air conditioning unit with a refrigerant evaporator diagonally disposed within the air conditioning cabinet and includes a condensate drain trough at the opposite edges of the evaporator adjacent the front and rear wall of the cabinet, a drain pan assembly extending along the rear wall of the cabinet, and a detachable drip tray.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,027,498, issued Jun. 7, 1977, to H. S. Fessler, discloses an air conditioner for being mounted to the wall of an enclosure box having a cabinet, a refrigeration chassis mounted in the cabinet, and an L-shaped frame attached to and dividing the cabinet into first and second chambers, with a compressor and a condenser in the first chamber and an evaporator in the second chamber.
A review of the art discussed above reveals there is a need for an air conditioning installation system that allows for a precision fit, prefabricated transition member for use in making interconnections between the components of an air conditioning system in a quick, timely manner without the need for fabricating transition members on location, or for using multiple purpose transition members that may not fit as accurately as desired and still require additional time to adjust. The transition members should be readily storable to reduce capital expenditures such as inventory costs, warehouse space, as well as personnel costs including organization and maintenance of the inventory system. As well, a need exists for avoiding the problem installing a system in a small service room where coil evaporator lines and drain lines may be highly difficult to connect and therefore require changing out from a right-hand to left-hand coil unit or visa versa. Those skilled in the art have long sought and will appreciate the present invention which provides solutions to these and other problems.